fullman*

Today, we are commemorating the seventh year of EDSA Dos. The GMA administration wants us to forget EDSA Dos, but how can that be possible? I was there. I will always remember EDSA Dos for what it truly is: a moment of indignation and unity, of a sense of honor among ordinary Filipinos.

The GMA administration finds it easy to forget about EDSA because it wasn’t theirs in the first place. How can you foget something whose soul is already in your heart?

***

I was there. During its first few hours, its unadulterated moments, and stayed even when those on stage were people who shouldn’t be there at all. We came from the Tomas Morato Circle, where we started a noise barrage; it drew in a crowd that in less than an hour grew so large.

I was there, and we marched from Tomas Morato to EDSA Shrine, where a small crowd was already gathering when we arrived. When we got there we were told to organize a program to sustain the interest of the swelling crowd. I was there, I just turned 23, and I was thinking whom to call to host the program, someone who could instantly create chants to keep the crowd awake. We were also looking for performers, artists and singers who could use this collective sense of indignation for a song.

I was there because of indignation. Estrada used his office to amass wealth, and in a country where the vast disparity between a decent life and deep poverty is widened further by corrupt officials, I felt the need to stand up and say enough.

I was there because Erap had to be removed. He refused to resign, and flaws in the impeachment process had shown that we couldn’t rely on it to hold Estrada accountable. People in the elite who are so used to being in power called in mob rule, a rejection of the rule of law. I call it justice.

I was 23 years, an NGO worker, and I was there, admittedly a little terrified that the gathering crowd might turn violent, or that one of the fly-overs would collapse due to a throng that discovered that jumping goes well with chanting. I did imagine the banner story in various newspapers the day after: “EDSA Dos Flattened. Literally.” Or something that.

***

I wore several hats during EDSA Dos. I was with AKBAYAN Youth initially, along with student leaders from various schools, as part of the Kompil Youth. There were coalitions within coalitions, we organized discussions and rallies and got pelted with plastic bags filled with water whenever we pass by urban poor communities.

Later, I was part of a contingent from different lesbian and gay groups. We carried a humongous rainbow banner, and we were there to assert that Filipino lesbians and gays should be part of the democratic process. As in other anti-Estrada rallies, I felt euphoric: EDSA Dos was an act of defiance, and for us, for lesbians and gays to be there, visible and protesting, amplified that sense of defiance.

The euphoria ended when the crowd started using homophobic chants to taunt then Sen. John Osmeña. There were also images of Estrada humping Osmeña. We started telling groups of people not to use homophobia to express their political message. When it started to seem futile, I remember going back to the stage to talk to the host. No homophobia, please.

***

I was in EDSA Dos, and the only regret that I have is that what we did was not enough an explanation to those who saw Erap as a symbol of hope. Their alienation was understandable. For them, Estrada was someone they could approach. He was corrupt but he was at least their own man. Erap para sa mahirap: he brought their dreams to Malacañang.

Having been part of the march to Malacanang, I was no longer in EDSA when GMA was sworn in to assume the presidency. That day, Manila’s urban poor saw a premonition in the form of a small woman, her right hand raised and the other on top of the bible. A hwoman, who, when she swore that she would do her best to protect the people and the Constitution, committed her first act of fraud as the new President of the country.

***

On October 25, 2007, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted executive clemency to Joseph Estrada. It was honor among thieves.

It was funny hearing from Sec. Bunye the resolution that pardoned Erap. He failed to mention in the preambulatory clauses that I and hundreds of thousands of Filipinos were there, we were in EDSA, and Gloria was not. It was a short resolution, and I thought the “Whereas’es” were too bare to display an iota of justice and wisdom. They were enough, certainly more than enough, to show that another crime has been committed.